Increased security measures and the frequent need to prevent or otherwise control the flow of traffic trough a specific access points are growing concerns. Such areas as construction sites, governmental buildings, utility facilities, nuclear facilities, parking lots and private residential areas are just a few of the applications where traffic control measures may be desirable. Effective traffic control enables unwanted vehicular traffic to be turned away and discourages unauthorized vehicles unfettered access to controlled areas except under predetermined conditions.
It is known to provide guarded or unguarded gates at control points of security perimeters to regulate traffic through a controlled number of entrances using a variety of barriers. Known gates include chain link fencing sections, wooden or metal cantilevered and liftable bars, traffic spikes and other generally light-weight obstruction devices. Such devices are typically light in weight to facilitate their operation, increase the speed of actuation between open and closed positions, and to reduce associated wear and tear. Devices that include manned shelters often are constructed on a mobile platform to enable the units to be towed into position and parked, for example the guard shack stations provided by Shelters Direct and Par-Kut
Liftable bar-type barriers are typically pivotally mounted at one end to permit their vertically pivoting removal from their intended, access blocking position. One known chain link gate is arranged for guillotine travel up and down. Horizontal rolling chain link gates are often employed at such control points as well. At a manned vehicular access point, a guard shack, or outbuilding is often employed and is situated in proximity to the control locus to provide environmentally-sheltered accommodations to a person tasked with enforcing control of traffic at that location. Once it is determined that the vehicle is suited for access to the secured area, the guard may provide access by temporarily repositioning the entry barriers to permit a vehicle access to the controlled area. In the alternative to a manned position, traffic-control stations may also be user-accessible by key card, RFID devices, keypads or biometric readers or remotely via video surveillance.
Rigorous control of access by vehicles to sensitive areas has become a significant issue especially in view of increasing concerns of property theft and terrorist threats, for example. Since the area to be secured may be only temporary, say because of a temporal event or a construction project, it can be too costly to justify building a permanent vehicle access control installation at each possible entry. There is a need for a fully-contained, cost-effective, re-positionable access control system that can be delivered on-site as a robust, integral unit, quickly deployable, as needed, then capable of being picked up and loaded onto a bed of a vehicle for fast removal when no longer needed at that location. It would be particularly useful if the prefabricated vehicle access control system could also be easily converted into a permanent installation, if desired.